The compounds as defined in formula 1, have been detected, among other reaction products, during the course of studies on peracid dehydration of the sesquiterpene elemol.
A Japanese patent JP 54084551 by Nagakura et al, published on 5th Jul., 1979 describes the use in perfumery, for cosmetics and flavor for food, of substances, specifically of an oily and multi-component oxidation product obtained by treating a mixture, consisting of alpha elemene and delta elemene, resulting from heat dehydration of beta elemol or an alpha elemene mixture separated from the dehydration product, with a peracid.
It is important to point out that this document of prior art neither specifies structure nor stereochemistry of any component of the mixture except giving the infrared and NMR spectra of the mixture. Without doubt, on the basis of the experimental conditions described in the abstract of the document, for the preparation of mixtures of diastereomers of elemenes oxides derived each from alpha and delta elemenes one may, theoretically expect the sesquiterpene alcohols, 2 and 3 as shown in the scheme-I.
Compound of formula (1) is neither prepared synthetically nor isolated from a natural product and reported the prior art. Its use as a perfuming or flavoring ingredient is also not known in the prior art.
During the synthesis of a reference compound, dehydration of elemol was carried out. The pleasant smelling novel sesquiterpene oxides, compounds of the present invention, were obtained as side products during the reaction.